The Department of Tourism Management in the Faculty of Management Studies at Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka has launched a unique programme in hybrid Business Management through a special degree - “B.Sc. in EcoBusiness Management” (EBM).
This 4-year degree programme will cater to industrial requirements by churning out graduates with capabilities to perform as environmentally conscious managers in the business environment.
University officials said the EBM degree programme was launched in 2006 by the Department of Tourism Management after identifying the necessity of skilled manpower in managing environmental aspects in the industrial environment. They said this is the first time where environmental education is blending with the business management curriculum in Sri Lankan university system.
The innovative degree provides an insight into the specialized areas of Operations Management & Industrial Ecology, Life Cycle Assessments, Environmental Standards, Environmental Law, Green Marketing, Natural Resource Conservation, Business Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility, EcoAccounting, Sustainable Reporting Initiatives, Environmental Auditing and Industrial Best Practices backed with the Geographical Information Systems above the solid foundation on management principles.
The graduation of the first batch of EcoBusiness Management after successful completion of four year academic work including an industrial training was held on January 15 at the BMICH Colombo. Iraj Ratnayake, Senior Lecturer and the Head, Dept. of Tourism Management, who took the initiative in developing this degree, said, ‘we introduced this programme having several objectives in mind. With rapidly evolving environmental legislation and policies- and as the awareness of the consumer increases- business and industry increasingly turn to new technical solutions to environmental problems as well as new management tools and approaches.
Within this context there is a growing concern on aspects of environmental management and social responsibility and it is almost recognised as one of the core management functional areas of modern industry.
Such institutions require qualified staff that could confidently take up all challenges when establishing systems and processes for achieving said objectives.”
Mr. Harsha Liyanage, a graduate of the programme and who works as a Business Compliance Executive at Brandix Active Wear, told The Sunday Times FT that, ‘I enjoy my work which was extended to inspect the compliance with environmental standards where basics came from my specialized area ISO 14001 to SA 8000. I also support the company to implement best practices TQM and identify the bottlenecks in the process.” |
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